Newell opens up on Half-Life 3 dev issues

[AlanJohn]

Unexpected results, positive and negative, appear to have postponed the game's development
Valve has remained silent about the Half-Life 3 project due to significant unexpected occurrences during the game’s development, the company’s managing director Gabe Newell has explained.
Newell, who co-founded the company in 1996, discussed the unannounced Half-Life project without mentioning it by name. He instead spoke at length about ‘Ricochet 2’ – a project that likely does not exist – in what appears to be a code word for Half-Life 3.
“In terms of Ricochet 2, we always have this problem that when we talk about things too far in advance,” Newell said.
“We end up changing our minds as we're going through and developing stuff, so as we're thinking through the giant story arc which is Ricochet 2, you might get to a point where you're saying something is surprising us in a positive way and something is surprising us in a negative way, and, you know, we'd like to be super-transparent about the future of Ricochet 2.”
In a podcast interview with Seven Day Cooldown, Newell suggested that Valve’s ongoing silence on the Half-Life 3 project was fairer to fans than exposing the project along with its various transformations and delays.
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“The problem is, we think that the twists and turns that we're going through would probably drive people more crazy than just being silent about it, until we can be very crisp about what's happening next,” he said.
Valve’s last Half-Life game was released in 2007. Since then, the company has faced numerous online and real-world protests that call on Valve to clarify the project’s development.
Develop was last year reliably informed that “unexpected concept changes” were central to the delay to the Half-Life 3 project.
Ricochet was one of the first games to be realeased on Steam. A sequel is not thought to be in development. The Seven Day Cooldown podcast interviewer framed the question in a manner that suggested he was discussing Half Life.

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[Joe88]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=632kyLysP6c[/youtube]

 

[Guild McCommunist]

I also think they're waiting for like real next gen tech for a new engine. Half Life has kinda been the real "opener" for Valve's engines. It pioneered GoldSrc and it opened up Source. I wouldn't be surprised if Half Life 3 uses a new engine by them and they're waiting for the next generation for this to happen.

Even then, I'd rather wait for a good game then get rushed a bad game.

 

[AlanJohn]

I also think they're waiting for like real next gen tech for a new engine. Half Life has kinda been the real "opener" for Valve's engines. It pioneered GoldSrc and it opened up Source. I wouldn't be surprised if Half Life 3 uses a new engine by them and they're waiting for the next generation for this to happen.

Even then, I'd rather wait for a good game then get rushed a bad game.

What if they're waiting for the next-gen consoles since they don't want to make it look like shit?

 

[Berthenk]

Even then, I'd rather wait for a good game then get rushed a bad game.

I wonder, was any of Valve's fames games rushed or bad? I haven't played Ricochet but so far from what I've played everything was at the very least good.

 

[Skelletonike]

I also think they're waiting for like real next gen tech for a new engine. Half Life has kinda been the real "opener" for Valve's engines. It pioneered GoldSrc and it opened up Source. I wouldn't be surprised if Half Life 3 uses a new engine by them and they're waiting for the next generation for this to happen.

Even then, I'd rather wait for a good game then get rushed a bad game.

I agree with that, a lot of people nowadays would rather get a game sooner and then complain about how it sucked, than wait several years and then get a really good game.
People are getting used to games getting released every year or so (CoD, sports games like PES, etc etc), but those games are just pretty much the same as the previous games with minor improvements.

I've never played a Half-Life game, but I'm pretty sure most of the real fans of the series would rather wait and then get a really good game, then just getting a rushed game (especially a game that was as good as Half-Life, the better a game is, the harder it is to make a sequel for it).

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Even then, I'd rather wait for a good game then get rushed a bad game.

I wonder, was any of Valve's fames games rushed or bad? I haven't played Ricochet but so far from what I've played everything was at the very least good.

Richochet is apparently pretty stupid but it was also one of their earliest games and is really the only "not amazing" game out of their collection. The only game you could argue was "rushed" was Left 4 Dead 2, since it came only a year after the original, but even then it was in the makings as an expansion pack but there was so much new content and ideas in it that they decided it was better off as a full retail game. Even then, the game was incredible.

 

[Hadrian]

Well if they're truly waiting for next gen, why don't they just make a PC version? I mean its the PC gamers this thing mainly sells too and then once the consoles have caught up then they'll do a port or another Orange Box style game.

 

[R2DJ]

Well if they're truly waiting for next gen, why don't they just make a PC version? I mean its the PC gamers this thing mainly sells too and then once the consoles have caught up then they'll do a port or another Orange Box style game.

Which will make console owners wait even more, especially if they know that HL3 is just around the corner.

 

[raulpica]

What about Episode 3?

 

[Guild McCommunist]

Well if they're truly waiting for next gen, why don't they just make a PC version? I mean its the PC gamers this thing mainly sells too and then once the consoles have caught up then they'll do a port or another Orange Box style game.

Valve recently though has been trying to get a bit more into the console market though. They did simultaneous releases of Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Portal 2, and at one point they were going to do cross-platform multiplayer for CS: GO (I think it was scrapped though). There's also Steam on PS3 but that didn't really take off it seems.

Plus The Orange Box was good but they completely fucked up on TF2. Nowadays a console version of The Orange Box is basically just Half LIfe 2, it's episodes, and Portal. TF2 is so far behind that it's not even worth playing.

 

[Berthenk]

Crossplatform for PC/Mac to PS3 has indeed been scrapped while PC/MAC to 360 never even was an option due to Microsoft being a bitch. PC to Mac is still possible though.

 

[totunforster]

I also think they're waiting for like real next gen tech for a new engine. Half Life has kinda been the real "opener" for Valve's engines. It pioneered GoldSrc and it opened up Source. I wouldn't be surprised if Half Life 3 uses a new engine by them and they're waiting for the next generation for this to happen.

Even then, I'd rather wait for a good game then get rushed a bad game.

What if they're waiting for the next-gen consoles since they don't want to make it look like shit?

Consoles shouldn't matter, everything on computers will look so much better so they are just waiting on the next engine.

 

[Wizerzak]

Crossplatform for PC/Mac to PS3 has indeed been scrapped while PC/MAC to 360 never even was an option due to Microsoft being a bitch. PC to Mac is still possible though.

That's a shame, I was looking forwarded to owning some 'controller-ftw' players with my master race mouse and keyboard.

 

[Hadrian]

I'm in the "never release it if its not up to expectations" camp. My expectations aren't "best game ever" just something that fits well with the HL universe, has a good story and something that makes sense.

If the next title is Episode three, well they only have to be better than Episode 1 which wouldn't be hard for them to do but I expect Episode 3 is long dead now.

I think Valve want this to be their best game, they have their own high standards. New IPs well they just want them to be really good but HL made them what they are so I understand why they take so long on it, They have concepts and they want them to work, they're not like other developers, they work for themselves and only release something when its good for them not just because a publisher needs a game out (which is why a lot of the FPS series have gone downhill).

I'm no Valve fanboy but I greatly respect them and what they do. They treat their staff well and don't piss on gamers.

 

[xdmario1]

He still can't even say three.

 

[Gahars]

I find it kind of comforting that, even when Gabe Newell is being open and frank, he still finds ways to troll his audience like a sir.

 

[MelodieOctavia]

Yeah that explains EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVERYTHIIIIIIIIIIIIIING.......

still, if Aperture Science and Black Mesa have a major crossover in Episode 3, it would be completely mindblowing.

 

[Guild McCommunist]

still, if Aperture Science and Black Mesa have a major crossover in Episode 3, it would be completely mindblowing.

Well it's already known they're in the same universe, although if they take place in the same time period is unknown.

Although having Chell and Gordon team up for some nasty sexual fan fiction Combine ass kicking, it would be rather awesome.

 

[MelodieOctavia]

still, if Aperture Science and Black Mesa have a major crossover in Episode 3, it would be completely mindblowing.

Well it's already known they're in the same universe, although if they take place in the same time period is unknown.

Although having Chell and Gordon team up for some nasty sexual fan fiction Combine ass kicking, it would be rather awesome.

Time travel isn't exactly out of the question either. I mean the Half-Life universe is a pretty crazy place.